


In the Shadows

by bubblebucky



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 06:54:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblebucky/pseuds/bubblebucky
Summary: This thing you had in the shadows has been going on far too long. Especially since you have more to worry about than just yourself, now.aka, overwatch agent reader tells reaper they can’t sneak around with him anymore because they’re pregnant





	In the Shadows

This thing you had in the shadows has been going on far too long. Frankly, you’d probably reached  _too long_  the instant you got involved with him—the fact that you didn’t kill him on sight the first time was a betrayal to everything you’re involved in, and these last long months of stolen moments and hidden touches, masked by untruths and darkness, have probably damned you to the same level as Judas and those traitors.

Maybe it says something awful about your character that you really don’t care about that. It’s been a long time since you were convinced morals were something concrete and applicable to every situation, and from the beginning there was never any room in your relationship with him for righteousness.

But this goes beyond right and wrong. Or maybe it doesn’t, but this is where you draw the line. You’ve given him your morals. You’ve given him your honor. You will not sacrifice this for him.

You stand in the dim light of his safe house, then, for the last time. These walls have become familiar over the last year or so, the only sanctum where you and him could be together honestly, and now, in the quiet that will reign until he arrives, you say goodbye. To the shitty couch that’s stained with both blood and take-out from the one restaurant you could both agree on; to the kitchen stove that only ever worked for you, which never failed to drive him nuts; to bed where you and him retreated to after hard days and good days both, where you pretended that all of this—all of him—was something you could keep; goodbye, for better or for worse.

You don’t even hear him when he finally arrives, but then again, you never do. One moment you’re alone in the safe house, waiting, and the next a shadow peels from the wall and he steps out, mask already off, not quite smiling but face softer than anything anyone else gets to see.

Your heart squeezes at the sight of him. “Hey, Gabe.”

“ _Mi corazón_ ,” His voice is deep and gravelly, so familiar as he crosses the distance between you and takes your face in his hands. His lips are cold like they always are, and you remember the times where you’ve made it your mission for the night to warm them up. You remember a lot, being held to him now like something precious. It’s harder to know the end is coming when everything is safe and quiet and lovely with him around.

You think Gabriel notices you’re acting strange today: clingier and more withdrawn all at once. You avoid his gaze but clutch at his hands and chest like you could keep him there if you held tight enough. Both you and him know you can’t, but he’s nice enough not to say anything.

These visits only last a few hours at a time, and then you both have to leave. You, to return to Overwatch and the glorious mission that comes with it, and he back to Talon, back to his revenge. With what you have to lose now, you wonder if either of your causes are really worth it—but that’s a thought you can’t follow, because it offers more shades of grey than you can afford.

But for a few hours, you pretend like everything is fine. Well, not fine, maybe, but normal, which constitutes a level of terrible that both of you have gotten used to by now. For this time, you press your face against Gabriel’s neck, and he wraps his arms around your back, kindly allowing you to avoid what’s weighing on you. But then, through the blinds that are always shut tight, you see the darkness gradually being washed away by the coming morning, and you know Gabriel will have to leave soon.

So, you take a breath. He feels you tensing, readying to finally speak, and he pulls away from you just enough to be able to see your face looking up at him, drawn and a little teary-eyed. He frowns in concern at the sight, but he says nothing, letting you speak.

Some part of you is thankful, really, even if the rest would do anything to avoid this conversation. Still, with all the self-discipline you can muster up, you say, “This can’t happen again.”

Immediately, Gabriel is a stone statue against you. His hands, where they rest on your back, dig in just a little, and claws bite gently into your skin before being forcefully pulled back.

Gabriel asks, carefully, “What?”

You wince. “I can’t do this anymore. It’s—it’s too dangerous.”

Which doesn’t sound like the truth, coming from someone who worked under Gabriel in Blackwatch for years, never once faltering at the horrible tasks assigned. Who spent ten years killing to survive in the wake of Overwatch’s destruction. Who saw the monster Gabriel Reyes had become and loved him anyways.

Gabriel pushes you off his lap, firmly but gently, until you both face each other on that shitty couch. His brown eyes have a red sheen to them as they always have since he became Reaper, but otherwise are the same ones that have been watching over you for half your life. They watch you now, a little hurt, a little confused.

Gabriel says, “We both know that’s bullshit.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, feeling them grow hot. “It’s not. I promise.”

“Then what’s changed?” This he demands sharply, frustration welling up on his face, and you know you’ve been trying his patience all night with your beating around the bush. He likes directness; you’re good at that, usually. But this isn’t a normal situation. This isn’t usually.

And if you tell him, there’s no taking it back. Ever since you found out, you’ve been thinking about all the implications, all the possible responses. You didn’t know how much you wanted this until it fell into your lap unplanned. You’re afraid of what he might ask you to do.

So, you open your eyes and ask him, “Are you sure you want to know?”

He opens his mouth, probably to snap out a yes, but the words die unspoken at the look on your face. He’s silent for a moment, always watching, and then he says, “Tell me.”

You wince. Your hands grip each other so hard it hurts, nails digging into your own skin. This is what you came to say, you remind yourself. He deserves a chance.

“I’m pregnant,” you tell him, and Gabriel freezes.

“What?” The word is mangled coming out of his mouth, rough and half-choked, and you drop your eyes to your lap to avoid looking at him.

“I’m pregnant,” you repeat, forcing your voice to sound stronger than you feel, “and it’s yours. So, we can’t do this anymore. It’s too dangerous. All this sneaking around, all the—the betrayal. It was fine when it didn’t matter, but now it does.”

“ _Corazón_ ,” Gabriel chokes.

You barrel on. “I won’t join Talon. That’s not something I want to involve our—my baby in. You don’t have to come with me back to Overwatch, but you should know that it’s the only way you’ll be seeing us. No more of this bullshit.”

“ _Mi corazón_ , please.”

“And I’m,” you choke a little, tears returning full-force, and shove at the ones that try to drip down your face, “I’m not getting rid of it, ok? I won’t. Don’t ask me to.”

“ _Mi alma_ ,” you finally stop as Gabriel reaches out and slides a hand along your jaw, softly guiding your face back up until you’re staring at his face, at his wide smile and wet eyes, “You’re pregnant.”

Before you can respond, he’s pulling you towards him, cradling you sideways against his chest with one arm and resting a broad hand on your belly, slightly bloated in a way that might suggest you overate recently to someone who doesn’t know the truth. But Gabriel does, now, and he’s gazing down at you and the beginnings of your pregnant belly with such tenderness that you forget why you were ever afraid he wouldn’t want this.

He says, “We won’t do this anymore.”

You swallow, vision blurring with hope. “Are you...?”

“I’m done.” He presses his mouth against your temple. “I’ll follow you back to Overwatch. I’ll take care of you both, I promise.”

Ever since getting the news, you’d thought about all the possibilities. Only a small part of you dared to dream of this reaction, of him leaving behind his revenge and his darkness for you, but that makes this reality only sweeter. This thing you had in the shadows has been going on far too long—it’s time to bring it back to the light.

**Author's Note:**

> find me at my tumblr, @bubblebucky


End file.
